SIBLINGS PUSH VALDIVIEZO TO 123 CROWN

Alejandra Valdiviezo and her younger brothers teamed up for their Christmas wish last December and asked for a wrestling mat. Wish granted, the siblings plop the mat on the living room floor and fling each other about.

“Mom sometimes gets a little upset when we come too close to hitting the TV,” said Alejandra, a Poway High sophomore.

One day while mom was at work the siblings got a little rambunctious and broke a framed family picture. The kids vacuumed up the glass and when mom asked about what happened to the frame, they blamed it on their 70-pound Dobermann.

That dedication paid off Saturday in front of 3,000 fans squeezed into Mission Hills High when Valdiviezo won the 123pound class at the San Diego Section Masters Meet, qualifying her for next week’s state championships.

In the finals, Valdiviezo pinned Lauren Zaragoza of Brawley in 3 minutes, 21 seconds, running her record to 27-1. Zaragoza dropped to 28-3.

Brawley won the team competition with 120 points. Mira Mesa finished second with 66, followed by Steele Canyon (54), San Marcos (50) and Vista (48).

The top three wrestlers at each weight class qualified for state, and Brawley advanced the most with six.

Valdiviezo has one other advantage over her peers. She wrestles in the same room with Poway’s dominant boys team, often going one-on-one against the boys.

Asked the key to Valdiviezo’s success, Poway coach John Meyers said, “Her work ethic and love for the sport. You put those two together, that’s a real dangerous combination. She doesn’t take any time off. She’s traveling all the time, looking for competition and training.”

Regarding Valdiviezo training with the boys, Poway’s Laird Root, who won the 147-pound class, said, “Obviously that’s a real tough environment. If you’re not working hard, it’s going to stand out. I think she does a good job working maybe harder than some of our varsity guys. She works hard, and it obviously has paid off.”

Next week will be a return trip to the state championships in San Bernardino for Valdiviezo, who placed sixth last year,

Her goal next week? “Be a state champion,” she said.

One of Saturday’s surprise winners was Mira Mesa’s Birta Mckaskill at 108 pounds, who pinned Holtville’s Mia Navarro in 1:42.

“Oh my God, it feels mind blowing,” said Mckaskill, a junior who improved to 33-3. “I want to cry from being so happy. To be honest, I thought I was going to lose.”

At an offseason tournament, Mckaskill lost to Navarro 4-0.

Said Mckaskill, “My coach said, ‘You need to show up and show them why you deserve to go to state.’ ”

The tournament was a family affair for San Marcos senior Destiny Ware, who won her weight class at 162 pounds.

Ware’s sister, sophomore Brianna Ross, placed third at 123 pounds. Their brother, Brian Ware, won three matches at 220 pounds.

The siblings sometimes go against each other, and no one takes it easy on the other.

“Never,” said Destiny. “We all want the best of the best.”